The subject invention generally relates to an apparatus and method for cooking a casingless shaped food product. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for cooking a casingless shaped product, such as a casingless sausage and the like, by the use of heated pressurized air to lift and suspend a meat product above a conveying surface. The pressurized air lifts and rotates each casingless product above the conveying surface while additional heated air is also circulated above the product to provide the necessary process conditions to adequately cook the product prior to packaging.
Casingless shaped products, such as a casingless sausage and the like are known. Such shaped products are generally formed by a surface chemical denaturing process wherein a fresh meat product in a batter-like state is formed by treating the product, such as by heating for example, to form a skin around the formed batter.
Various methods and devices have been developed in the art to cook sausage-like products. In general, the uncooked product is conveyed along a process line through a cooking chamber or oven. The uncooked product can be cooked in a tray wherein the product itself is supported within a compatibly formed surface thereof. Such formed surfaces provide adequate support during cooking for sausages and the like which have been prepared with a traditional casing. The less rigid nature of an uncooked casingless food product, such as casingless sausages, generally require a more refined cooking apparatus which will prevent product discoloration and/or deformities in the product while the product is still in a fresh batter-like state during the initial stages of cooking. Most preferably, a casingless food product should be free from surface contact during the cooking step at least until the fresh batter is congealed to the point where it will no longer deform under minor pressures applied to the surface thereof. Such an apparatus has previously been unavailable.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a method and an apparatus for cooking casingless food products wherein the uncooked batter-like product is substantially free from detrimental surface pressures during cooking. In the embodiment described herein, the uncooked casingless product is positioned within a cooking chamber and is cooked while suspended above a conveyed support surface. In the preferred embodiment, the product is cooked while suspended above a formed tray by the use of pressurized air which is directed through a plurality of pores or slots which extend through the support surface of the tray. The pressurized air suspends and rotates the product above the support surface of the tray while the product is in the cooking chamber and the air is heated to simultaneously cook the suspended product. Hot air may also be circulated over the product and the support surface to provide a uniform temperature in the cooking chamber.
The cooking apparatus of the present invention can be incorporated into a system which includes means for stuffing and shaping a flowable batter material, an optional smoker and a packaging apparatus. The product can be conveyed through the entire system along a conveyor line and within the aforementioned formed trays which are manufactured to hold a plurality of the formed links.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a cooking apparatus to cook a casingless formed food product such as a casingless sausage and the like.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for cooking a casingless food product such as a casingless sausage and the like which utilizes pressurized air to suspend the product above a conveying surface during cooking.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a process for cooking a casingless food product wherein the product is cooked while suspended above a conveying surface.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated by those skilled in the art upon further consideration of the remainder of the disclosure including the detailed description and the claims.